From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell

After attending part of yesterday afternoon’s rehearsal for the Dallas opera’s production of Tristan, I went over and watched the first two acts of the dress rehearsal for SMU’s production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, which is being given this weekend in the Bob Hope Theater on the SMU campus.

From what I saw and heard, it would be well worth your trying to fit it into your weekend plans. The production is double cast, so I have no idea how the second cast will be, but several of the young singers I heard last night gave charming performances. The production, staged by Hank Hammett and conducted by Paul Phillips, both on the faculty at the university, had great energy and a surprising degree of polish, and the sets and costumes (by two students) were more stylish and clever than some productions I have attended at major opera companies around the world.